Chapter 2 You! Poison Test
Xiao Jingheng: "..."
He found it somewhat amusing, yet also somewhat helpless.
It seems that if we don't satisfy this gluttonous cat, we won't hear any "useful" news today.
He extended his slender fingers and, under Su Xiaoyu's longing gaze, picked up a piece of golden lotus seed paste pastry. He didn't put it in his mouth, but rather, as if pointing casually, his gaze fell on Su Xiaoyu, his tone calm and unwavering:
"You, come here."
Su Xiaoyu's eyes widened, and she pointed at herself: "Me?"
Both Zhao's mother and Liu's mother were taken aback!
Xiao Jingheng remained unfazed and calmly added, "It's a gift from the Emperor, so it's best to be cautious. You test it for poison!"
try?
Testing for poison?
Su Xiaoyu suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide open, almost unable to believe her ears.
"Give me some? Oh my god! What a great thing! Your Highness, you're such a kind person!"
Su Xiaoyu was overjoyed inside, but she tried her best to remain calm on the surface. She quickly stepped forward and carefully took the pastry she had been dreaming of.
She resisted the urge to stuff it into her mouth and gave a perfunctory curtsy: "Thank you for the reward, Your Highness."
Then, she took a small bite.
The exquisitely delicate texture and the refreshingly sweet lotus seed paste aroma exploded in her mouth, making Su Xiaoyu almost squint her eyes in bliss.
[It's so delicious! No wonder it's made in the imperial kitchen. The pastry melts in your mouth, and the lotus seed paste is rich, creamy, and smooth... I've never wanted to live like this!]
Seeing her satisfied expression, as if she possessed the whole world, Xiao Jingheng's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile.
He looked at Liu again and brought up the same question again.
"Mother, where do you think Zhang Bing went? Could he really have vanished into thin air?"
Liu: ...
What's wrong with this child today? Is this a question that a woman confined to the inner quarters of the house can answer?
I felt that my eldest son was acting strangely today, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
But since Xiao Jingheng had already asked, as a mother, she couldn't just pretend not to know, or she would look useless.
Liu had no choice but to pick up her teacup and take the opportunity to think quickly while sipping her tea, before carefully speaking: "This... a living person can't just disappear into thin air. In my opinion, it's most likely... that they encountered some misfortune."
"Perhaps he offended someone and was... kidnapped and taken outside the city?"
Liu's words were essentially meaningless.
[Outside the city? Madam, your thinking is far too conventional!]
Having just enjoyed the imperial pastries, Su Xiaoyu was in a great mood, and her inner monologue was particularly lively.
[The most dangerous place is the safest place, you know? That partner is incredibly daring; he's right there in the dye house, hidden at the bottom of the biggest, bubbling dye vat! If we go fish him out now, we might still be able to get him intact.]
A dyeing vat! It truly is a dyeing vat!
Xiao Jingheng's fingers tightened slowly around the teacup, but his face remained calm, and he even nodded in agreement with Liu's words.
“Mother is right. We do need to send more people to search outside the city.”
Seeing that her son agreed with her opinion, Madam Liu breathed a slight sigh of relief, but couldn't help but say with concern, "These cases are certainly important, but you must also take care of your health and not overwork yourself."
"I understand, thank you for your concern, Mother," Xiao Jingheng replied, but his gaze seemed to sweep over Su Xiaoyu again, almost imperceptibly.
At this moment, Su Xiaoyu was still sighing:
[Sigh, it's delicious, but there's so little of it, just a tiny piece... I wonder if the young master will eat the rest? If he could try another piece, I'd be willing to run ten more errands tomorrow!]
Xiao Jingheng listened to the cravings without showing any emotion, a knowing glint in his eyes.
It seems that to keep this "little informant" useful, we need to cater to his preferences.
He glanced discreetly at the remaining few pieces of pastry.
"If Mother has no further instructions, I will take my leave now." Xiao Jingheng rose to take his leave.
"Go ahead, important business is ahead."
After taking only two steps, Xiao Jingheng paused again: "This golden lotus seed paste pastry is cooling in nature, so Mother should not consume too much of it. The rest should be distributed among the servants to avoid waste."
After saying that, he left the courtyard without lingering.
[A reward...a reward for the servants?! Ahhh! Mother! Dear Mother! You must give me a piece! No, even half a piece will do.]
Watching her eldest son's departing figure, Madam Liu smiled helplessly: "That child..."
He then instructed Zhao Mama, "Since the young master has said so, then take it and distribute it to you, so that you may share in the joy of the palace."
"Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Young Master!" Zhao Mama hurriedly smiled and expressed her gratitude, carefully picking up the food box.
——
That evening, at Moyunxuan.
Xiao Jingheng was organizing the case files of Zhang Bing's disappearance in his study when Changfeng, bathed in moonlight, pushed open the door and entered.
"Your Highness!" Changfeng's face was still filled with excitement and surprise.
"Just as you predicted, my men secretly took control of the silk shop's partners and searched the place under cover of night. They found Zhang Bing's body under the largest dye vat. When he realized his crime had been exposed, he collapsed to the ground and confessed to the crime of murder and concealing the body."
Xiao Jingheng's hand holding the brush paused slightly, and the ink smudged into a small dot on the rice paper.
His face was ashen, as if he had already anticipated this outcome, and he simply gave a faint "hmm".
Changfeng's tone was filled with undisguised admiration: "Your Highness, you are truly a visionary! The Prefect of the Capital had been investigating this case for half a month without any leads, yet you deduced that the body might be hidden inside the dyehouse based solely on the partner's subtle actions of being eager to sell it. I am truly impressed!"
Is he incredibly prescient?
Xiao Jingheng chuckled inwardly.
If it weren't for that little girl's inner thoughts, how could she have revealed the secret location where the corpse was hidden?
This is no coincidence, nor is it something that ordinary people could know.
He put down his pen, looked up at Changfeng, and asked, "What about the other thing?"
Changfeng composed himself, took out a thin piece of paper from his pocket, and presented it with both hands:
"This is all the information I found about Su Xiaoyu in Madam's courtyard."
This girl was a servant born into the Marquis's household. Her father, Su Zhong, was the commander of the Marquis's personal guards, and her mother, Zhao Yueru, was Zhao Mama, who served the Lady. She had lived in the Marquis's household since birth, and her life was extremely simple; she had almost never left the premises of the Marquis's residence.
Xiao Jingheng took the paper and quickly scanned it.
The record details everything: when Su Xiaoyu entered the family school, when she started helping out in the madam's courtyard, and even how many years old she was when she was punished for stealing snacks...
Yet it has no flaws.
"Is there anything unusual?" Xiao Jingheng pressed.
Changfeng shook his head. "Nothing unusual. If there's anything special about her... it's that she's known for being a glutton since she was little. She's also sweet-talking and good at getting things done. Besides Aunt Wang in the kitchen and Granny Li in the sewing room, even those old hands at the gatehouse have a good relationship with her and can always get her some snacks."
How are your interpersonal relationships?
"I get along well with most people in the manor, except for..." Changfeng paused, seemingly finding it difficult to speak.
"The second young lady seems to have a lot of complaints about her, thinking that she is lazy and unruly. Occasionally when they meet, she will make a few sarcastic remarks. Su Xiaoyu usually just smiles and avoids it, never arguing with the second young lady."
Xiao Jingheng tapped his long, slender fingers lightly on the table.
He knew his second sister's personality; she was a bit spoiled, so it was normal that she looked down on a "lacking ambition" maid like Su Xiaoyu.
But the more this is the case, the greater the mystery surrounding Su Xiaoyu becomes.
How could a maid with such a simple life and seemingly naive personality repeatedly uncover the truth behind cases that even he found difficult to solve?
Or does she have some kind of precognitive ability?
"Keep an eye on things, but don't alert them." Xiao Jingheng placed the paper over the candle flame, and the flame instantly swallowed up the seemingly mundane past of Su Xiaoyu.
"Yes!" Changfeng accepted the order.
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